Chicago Alderman Says Cash-Strapped City Could Make $7m By Changing Marijuana Possession Law

By
Don Babwin, Associated Press
on November 3, 2011

Some officials in cash-strapped Chicago believe they’ve found a way to bring in millions of desperately needed dollars while freeing up police: marijuana.

Alderman Danny Solis plans to introduce an ordinance Wednesday that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a ticketable offense with a $200 fine rather than a misdemeanor. He estimates the change would generate $7 million a year and, since the vast majority of such cases are dismissed, would save police and courthouse workers money and thousands of hours of time.

Similar laws exist around the country, but unlike in other states and cities where debate has often focused on marijuana use, the discussions in Chicago are centered almost entirely on money and wasted resources.

“In these trying times of the economy, we could really use the revenue generated by fines versus Arrests,” Solis said. “And each (arrest) means police officers are spending an inordinate amount of time outside the neighborhoods, inside the district offices doing paperwork.”

Solis’ plan would levy a ticket for someone in possession of 10 grams or less of the drug that could be cleared with a $200 fine and up to 10 hours of community service. Currently, the offense is a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine.

Backers of the change argue that Arrests for such infractions add up to a colossal waste of time. Of the 8,625 misdemeanor marijuana cases between 2006 and 2010, about 87 percent — or 7,227 cases — were dismissed, according to statistics from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Citing the dismissal rate, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recently recommended that Chicago police stop making Arrests for small amounts of marijuana. She noted the county, where the financial picture is as grim as the city’s, spends $78 million on marijuana Arrests.

Alderman Willie Cochran, who spent 25 years as a Chicago police officer, backs the ordinance.

“I support it because people are getting arrested, going into court and judges are … dismissing (the cases) and releasing them all anyway,” Cochran said.

Solis said the 23,000 Arrests on misdemeanor charges in the city last year added up to at least 84,000 hours that police spent driving suspects out of neighborhoods where they were arrested, doing paperwork, inventorying evidence and other chores that take them off the street.

And that doesn’t include the hours officers are paid to appear in court or the time that county workers, from those in the jail to the courthouse, devote to such cases.

Although it would decriminalize the offense, the ordinance would be stricter than some elsewhere in the U.S. In California, for example, possession of as much as an ounce of marijuana, or 28 grams, is an infraction no more serious than a speeding ticket. Under a more than 30-year-old state law in New York, people caught with 25 grams are only ticketed as long as the drug is out of public view.

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy hasn’t come out in support the ordinance, which likely won’t get a full city council vote until early next year. But unlike in some jurisdictions where law enforcement officials opposed such measures, McCarthy has signaled he’s open to such a plan.

“With minor possession, it would be in everybody’s interests to free up officers, keep them in the field (where they) effectively enforce the law,” department spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said.

Emanuel Undecided on Marijuana Ticket Measure

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today indicated he’s undecided on an ordinance that would see Chicago police issue tickets instead of make arrests for those caught with a small amount of marijuana.

“This issue has two parts to it, not one. The first part which is what’s motivating people. . . is the issue of the cost to the system, arrests, overtime, court, jail. Then there’s also the criminal justice side. I have to evaluate and will evaluate both, not one or the other,” Emanuel said.

“If you look at other cities that have done something like this, they have also created their own set of problems,” Emanuel said. “If we do it, and if I put my support, which I’m not doing yet, I want to look at it from both sides and be thoughtful.”

Supporters of the plan presented city arrest data that they said shows police disproportionately arrest minorities under current laws. The numbers, however, could not be immediately verified. Ald. Danny Solis, 25th, said his staff pulled the information from the city’s web site.

Solis wants the city to issue tickets with $200 fines rather than arrest people caught with 10 grams or less of marijuana.

Solis has said issuing tickets for pot possession could help get more Chicago police onto the streets, rather than spending time processing arrests for small amounts of marijuana.